October 18, 2007 The Sustainable City-Where Urbanism and Ecology Meet

10/18/2007

The October Urban Design Forum assembles a national panel, all of whom have been involved in urban redevelopment projects that could be models for Nashville. In less than a year, Nashville has seen a dramatic shift in thinking about green building and more sustainable development approaches. New policies are in place giving incentives for LEED Certified buildings, public buildings are required to be LEED Certified, and portions of the building code are being reconsidered. All of this is occurring on the heels of The Plan of Nashville and a new Riverfront Masterplan that envision a downtown focused on the Cumberland River, a natural resource that has been virtually ignored until recently. Large redevelopment projects underway like Rolling Mill Hill and The Gulch and various individual condominium and mixed-use projects have begun a major downtown renaissance in Nashville. However, there is still significant opportunity for bigger thinking and a number of areas that are virtual clean slates begging for sustainable, urban, ecologically grounded visions including SoBro, the East Bank, the North Gulch and the Bicentennial Mall area.

Panelists:
Steve Apfelbaum – President, founder, Applied Ecological Services
Jim Constantine – Principal of Planning, Looney Ricks Kiss Architects
John L. Knott, Jr. – President and CEO, Noisette Company, LLC

Moderator:
T.K Davis – Design Director, Nashville Civic Design Center